Operating means for elevator shaft and car doors.



J. E. W. FOGAL.

OPERATING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR SHAFT AND CAR DOORS.

Patented May 8, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, I916.

amma WITNESSES J. E. W. FOGAL.

OPERATING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR SHAFT AND CAR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. IBIS.

11. ,2@5 6@6a Patented May 8, 1917.

/7 5 SHEETSSHEET 2. /J k I l i '4 0/ WITNESSES "64mm JfiTWfigaZ V J. E. W. FOGAL. OPERATING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR SHAFT AND CAR DOORS.

. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9| 1916- l @25 66 Patented May 8, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

y l 6 5 k f *1 76 W WITNESSES I/WEfl/TOR Brim J. E. w. FOGAL. 4 vOPERATING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR-SHAFT AND CAR DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, l9|6.

Patented May 8, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITIV ESSES INVE/i/TUR J. E. W. FOGAL.

OPERATING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR SHAFT AND CAR DOORS.

. ,19 6. 6 7 APPLICATION H LED SEPT 9 l Patented May 8' 9 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

4A /d V WITNESSES INVENTOR Q1 #W a izvzfia ag. 466 By ATTORNEYS opening 301111? E. W. FQGAL, @F QUINCY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 QUINCY ELEVATUE GATE CQMPANY, 0F QUINCY, ILLINOIS.

OPERATING MEANS FOR ELEVATOR. SHAFT AND CAR D0035.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented allay 8. 191?.

Application filed September 9, 1916. Serial No. 119,249.

Improved ()perating Means for Elevator Shaft and Car Doors, of which the'tollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to apparatus for operating the gates or doors at the floors of an elevator shaft after the method disclosed. in United States Letters Patent 865,335, granted to me September 3, 1907; and the present invention relates to improvements in apparatus of this character.

The invention has for its general objects to improve the construction and operation of door-operating mechanisms so as to be reliable and etticient in use, comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and install, and so designed as to afiord maxi mum safety.

A. more specific object of the invention is the provision of an electromechanical apparatus for opening and closing elevator or hatch doors according to the will of the operator, the apparatus including means whereby the power for moving the car is cut off as long as the gate or door is open so that the operator must see to the closing of the door before starting the car.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a door or gate for the car which is operatively connected with the means for and closing the hatch or shaft doors. so that the car door or gate and the selected shaft door or gate will open or close simultaneously.

fin :ulditional object is the provision of a car door or grate which is operatively connected at all times with a pull cable installed in the shaft. so that a pull thereon will operate through a suitable sheave and able system to open or close the gate of the car.

The invention has as a further object to provide a motor-driven winding}: drum on which the pull or gate-operating cable is adapted to wind and unwind. in combination with a brake device for the motor under the control of the operator in the car,

and means automatically controlling the setting of the brake device to stop the motor when the cable has been wound or unwound a predeterminedamount for effecting the opening or closing of the doors or gates.

Further. the invention provides a novel operating means between the brake device and the controller for the motor, whereby the operator will, upon actuating the con trolling cable, cause the brake device to first release before the switch is closed to supply power to the motor, there being also means whereby the power will be auton'iatically cut oil' when the gates or doors have reached their open or closed position, and this cutting oil" the power takes place just prior to the automatic setting of the brake device.

With such objects in View, and others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be set forth with particularity in the following description andclaims appended hereto.

in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain embodiments of the invention and wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a vertical section of an elevator shaft with intermediate portions broken away. showing the car at one of the tloors and the car gate and hatch door in closed position Y Fig. '2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2--2. Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the electromechanical gate-operating apparatus with the quick-acting reversing switch in section;

Fig. 4 is a side view of Fig. 3;.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 Fig. t;

Fig. (i is a sectional view Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-?, Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line S 8.

Fig. 9 is a view of tl-e brake and its oper ating cam;

if) is a on the line t -6 sectional view of the interill) locking switch for holding off the power for moving the car while the gate or door 1s in open position;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view of the electric circuits of the motor and the control switch therefor;

Fig. 12 is a vertical section of an elevator shaft with a modified form of car gateoperating means;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section on the line 1313, Fig. 12; and

Fig. 14 is a side view of an elevator car with another form of gate-operating means. To avoid confusion the hoisting means for the elevator car has been omitted from the drawings, but it isto be understood that any approved means may be employed for this purpose. A designates an elevator shaft which is provided with door openings 1 at the various floors 2, and at each 'open' ing 1 is a door or gate B of any approved design. In the present instance the door B' is of the flexible winding or rolling typeand winds on a roller 3 mounted in a box 1 at the top of the door opening, the door winding in opening and unwinding in closing. The elevator car C moves on the usual guide rails 5 and is equipped with the usual means for raising and lowering it.

The car may have one or more sides open i consequently it is impossible for a box,

truck or other article to project outwardly beyond the car floor far enough to contact with the floor projections while the elevator is moving up or down in the shaft, and the gate or door I) also prevents persons from falling against the shaft wall or doors or from extending the foot beyond the car line.

The shaft doors are adapted to be controlled by the operator of the car so that when any I floor is reached the operator can cause the shaft door at such floor to be opened. The construction for accomplishing this is set forth in my prior patent hereinbefore referred to, so that only a brief description of the shaft door-operating means need be given.

' gate or door is so related to the shaft dooris suspended by a-pull cable ,7 connected downwardly to a winding with the upper end of the bar and guided over pulleys p and p at the top of the shaft, and from this point the cable 7 passes drum 8 at the bottom of the shaft, so that by the turning The operatingmeans for the car of the drum the cable 7 will wind thereon. At each flooror at each shaft door the bar 6 hasa slot 9 into which is engageable a pawl 10 mounted on a crosshead or slide 11, such slide being connected with a cable 12 that passes around a stationary guide pulley 13 in the elevator shaft, and which is connected with a'winding drum 14 of the roller 3 of the adjacent door B, as shown in Fig. 1. A shoe on the car (not shown) presses the pawl 10 into the slot 9, and when the car reaches the desired floor, the operator in the car pulls the controlling cable 15 so that the cable 7 will be wound on the drum 8 and cause the bar 6 to move up wardly, which operating through the pawl 10 and carriage 11 will cause the door B to open. When the door is fully open, the turn ingof the winding drum 8 automatically stops by-means hereinafter to be explained. Obviously, by turning the drum 8 in the opposite direction the cable 7 unwinds therefrom and allows the bar 6, to drop, so that the door B will automatically close. The controlling element 15 is an endless rope or cable having one flight extending vertically through the car, and this cable is guided around apulley 16 at the top of the shaft and around a'pulley 17 at the bottom of the shaft, which latter pulley is operatively connected with a controller for the mechanism that operates the winding drum 8.

The car gate D is raised and lowered by a.

cable 18 that extends upwardly from the center of "the gate to an overhead pulley 19 mounted on a cross-piece 20 that is fastened 0n the corner posts 21- of the gate, and from thispulley 19 the cable extends laterally to a guide pulley 22 on one of the gate posts, and from this pulley 22 the cable extends downwardly to and around a pulley 23 fastened to the outsideof the car body adjacent the bottom thereof, as shown in Fig. 1.

This pulley hasa stationary axis and the cable passes upwardly to and over a pulley 1 .24, and thence downwardly therefrom,

where the cable is anchored at 25 on the car body. The pulley 21 moves up and down with respect to the pulley 23, and consequently exerts a longitudinal pull on the cable 18 to raise the gate I) when the pulley 24 -moves upwardly, and when the pulley 1- moves downwardly the gate closes under its own weight. The movement of this p'ulley 2a is under the control of. the operator in the car and is operatively connected with means installed in the shaft, 50 thatthe gate can be opened at any time irrespective oi the position of the car. For this purpose a cable 26 extends vertically of the shaft, with the1 lower end anchored at 2.7, and the upper en and 29 and connects with the cable 7 at 30, so that the cable 26 will move with the latter.

of this cable passes around pulleys 28 On the side of the car body is a large sheave or pulley 31 turning on a fixed axle 32 and directly under this sheave '31 is another sheave 33 which is connected by a hanger or frame 3% with the sheave or pulley 2i, and the sheave 33 is movable along the ver tical guideway 35 on the side of the car. The cable 26 extends upwardly past the sheave 33 and around the top of the sheave and thence extends downwardly to and under the sheave 33, and from this point it continues to the top of the shaft or to the pulley 28. In .other words, the cable has a loop extending around the sheaves 31 and 33. By this arrangement the car has a permanent running engagement with the cable 26, and when the cable is pulled upwardly, as when the cable 7 is wound on the drum 8, the sheave 33 is moved upwardly toward the sheave 31, and consequently the cable 18 is actuated to open the gate D. By the arrangement shown a pull of eight feet on the cable 7 will move the sheave 33 upwardly four feet, but this reduced movement is multiplied by the differential cable and pulley system connected with the gate D. In other words, the movement of the sheave 2% upwardly four feet will produce a movement of eight feet of the gate D.

Another system of pulleys and cables for transmitting power'to the gate is shown in Figs. 12 and 13. The cable 26 corresponding to the cable 26, Fig. 1, has its lower end connected at 35- with the bottom of the car and passes downwardly to and under a guide pulley 36 in the bottom of the shaft, thence upwardly to and over a pulley 37 mounted on a'carriage 38 which slides in a guideway 39, and from the pulley 37 the cable 26 extends downwardly to and under a pulley 40 mounted in a carriage ll slidable in a guideway 12 on the side of the car C, and from the pulley 40 the cable 26 extends upwardly to the top of the car, where it'is connected at T3 therewith. The pulley 37 is'moved upwardly by aconnecting cable 26 which connects with the shaft- ,g'ate-operating or pull cable 7'. The carriage 41 is connected with a cable 18 that passes around a pulley 44 fixed on the side of the car, and from this point the cable 13' extends upwardly to suitable guide pulleys and is connected with the gate D, as shown in Fig. 13. Obviously, when the cable 7' is wound on the drum 8. the cable 26' raises the pulley 40,- which in turn exerts a pull on the cable 18' and calfses thegate D to open. lf desired. the various sheaves or pulleys can be arranged at the sill of the car C, as shown in Fig. 1%, in which 26 corresponds to the cable .26, Fig. 1. This cable passes around guide pulleys 45 and -46 and also around a pulley 33 which moves horizon-- tally toward and from the pulleys 45 and 4.6.

This pulley 33 is connected with a pulley 2% which operates on a cable 18 to raise or lower'the gate of the car.

The electromechanical apparatus E for operating the cable 7 may be mounted either at the bottom or top of the shaft. 1n the present instance this apparatus isshown outside the elevator shaft at the bottom thereof, and the shaft extends through an opening 46 in the wall 47 of the elevator shaft and has fastened thereto the winding drum or wheel 8. The shaft 45 is provided with a worm. wheel 18 disposed in a casing 49, and meshing with this worm wheel is a worm gear 50 on a shaft 51. Thisshaft 51 is connected with an electric motor 52, which, ttgether with the gear casing 49, is mounted on a bed 53. On the shaft 51 is a brake wheel 54 with which engage brake shoes 55. These shoes are pivoted at 56on the bed 533 and their free extremities are formed with parallel lugs 57 carrying frictionless rollers 58. The brake shoes are urged into frictional engagement with the wheel 54 by springs 59 which are supported on a rod 69 which passes through the lugs 57. 0n this red are nuts 61 for adjusting against the outer faces of, the lugs to urge The rollers the latter toward each other. 58 engage opposite faces of a cam wheel 62 fastened to a controller shaft 63 that extends through an opening 6a in the wall 47 of the elevator shaft, and on the inner end of the shaft 63 is the wheel 17, around which the controller cable 15 passes. The cam wheel 62 has a reduced portion 65, and when the rollers 58 are engaged with this reduced portion 65, the brake shoes are set into frictional engagement with the wheel 54, so that the motor shaft will be held against rotation. I provided between the reduced portion 65 and the wide portion of the cam wheel, so that as these beveled surfaces pass between the rollers 58 there will be a gradual application or release of the brake shoes.

The cam-carrying shaft 63 also serves as means for actuating the quick-acting reversing switch F, which is 'mounted within a box 67 carried on the bearing pedestals 68 for the controller shaft 63. The switch F comprises a shaft 69 carrying a plurality of contacts 70 which cooperate with a plurality of sets of fingers 7 1 In line with the shaft '89 is a crank shaft 72 which carries a disk 73 adjacent the dislr 7st on the contact-carrying shaft A helical spring 7.? is coiled on the inner end of the shaft 72, and the ends of the springs are bent outwardly into members '76 nd 77 which are engageable respectively by lugs .76 76" and '77", 77*. lugs 76- and 77 being arranged on the disk 73, and the lugs 76 and '77 being arr nged on the disk 71. The disk 71- has in its periph cry a plurality of spaced recesses 78, 79 and 80, and bearing on the periphery is a roller 81 mounted on an arm 82 which is fulcrurned at 83 and backed by a spring 84 that urges the roller against the disk or wheel 74. When the roller is engaged with the central recess 79, as in Fig. 7, the switch contacts are in open-circuit position, as shown in Fig. 6, but when the disk 7% has turned so that the roller engages in either recess 78 or 80, the switch contacts will. be in closed-circuit position for the forward or reverse rotation of the motor 5:2, to effect the opening or closing movement of the gates or doors of. the elevator car or shaft. The yielding lock formed by the springpressed roller 81 prevents the switch shaft from turning until the spring 75 is placed under a tension by the turning of the shaft 72 sufficient to overcome the yielding power of the roller 81, and wliien this occurs the tension of the s ring 75 causes a quick movement of the switch shaft, which movement is arrested by the roller 81 entering either recess 78 or 80, when the switch will be in closedscircuit position. The crank shaft 72 associated. with the switch is operated by a suitable connecting means between such shaft and the controller or camcarrying shaft 63. On the shaft is a wheel 85 which has a stud 86 rotatably mounted thereon, andprojecting from one side and passing transversely through this stud is a rod 87 hingedly connected at 88 with the extremity of the crank arm 89 on the shaft 72. On the rod 87 is a helical compression spring 90 which has its upper end engaging a collar or shoulder 91 on the rod 87, and the lower end of this spring is adapted to engage the stud 86. Under the stud and fastened to the rod 87 is a collar 93 separated from'the stud 8'? by a slight clearance, so that as the wheel 75 turns to the right or left, Fig. 4, the rod 87 will swing on pivot 88 as a center until the stud 86 moves into engagement with the collar 93, and then the stud '86 will, by engaging the collar 93, move the rod 87 downwardly to the right or left, as indicated by the arrows, to throw the switch to closed-circuit position. This lost-motion connection between the wheel 85 and rod 87 allows for a limited'rotaticn of the controller or cam-carrying shaft sutlicient to release the brake shoes Eidfrom the brake wheel before the motor circuitis closed. In other words, the brake will be released be-j fore the motor starts to operate. When the switch is in closed-circuit position and it is to be open-circuited, the wheel 85, Fig. 41-, turns to the right or left to throw the stud 86 from either dotted-line position to the central full-line posit-ion. In doing this the spring 90 is first compressed and placed menace 7 releases from either recess 78 or 80, the movable switch contacts will be quickly thrown to open-circuit position, assisted by the expansion of the spring 90, and this occurs before the wheel 85 completes its return movement or before the cam wheel 62 permits the brake shoes to set and stop the motor. In other words, the current is cut off from the motor before the brake device stops the motor shaft fromturning.

A switch G is employed for the purpose of cutting off the power automatically from the elevator car when the door or gate opens, so that the car cannot be started unless the gate is closed. The switch G comprises contacts 95 and 96 and'a bridging contact 97. which, when engaged as shown in Fig. 10, permits the elevator car to be electrically raised or lowered by the usual electrical apparatus. The bridging contact 97 is fastened to a lever 98 fulcrumedat 99,

and on the lever is a wheel 100 which is engaged with a disk 101. This disk is mounted on an extension 15* of the shaft 15, Fig. 3, there being a thread 102 on the shaft extension with which the disk 101 is engaged so that, by the turning vof the shaft, the disk 101 will move between the spaced stops 103 and 105i fastened to and rotatable with the shaft. hen the disk 101 is. in its outermost position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 10, the switch G is in closed- .circuit position, and when the shaft 15 turns, the disk 101 moves inwardly. and opens the switch G by moving the bridging contacts 97 out of engagement with the contacts 95 and 90. The disk 101 is provided with a sprocket wheel 105 with which engages a sprocket chain 106, and this in turn engages sprocket teeth 107 on the wheel 85. The disk 101 is adapted to be clutched to the shaft 15 by means of clutch teeth 108 on the hub of the disk 101 and corresponding shoulders 109 on the stops or collars 103 and 101. By this means the shaft. 4:5 will operate through the sprocket and chain connection to turn the cam-carrying shaft, whereby the latter will cause the brake to set and stop the motor automatically when the disk 101 reaches the limit of its move ment in. either direction, which limit is reached when the elevator door or gate reaches its open or closed position.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be" readily understood by those skilled in the art to whichthe invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, together with the apparatus which 1 now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the ap under tension, and when the roller 81, Fig.

naaaeoe paratus shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An elevator shaft, a car movable therein, a gate for the car, an element extending up and downthe shaft and capable of movement independently of the car, and means on the car and having a running connectionwith the said element for receiving motion therefrom when the element is moved to open and close the gate.

'2. An elevator shaft, a car movabletherein, a gate for the car, an element extending up and down the shaft and capable of movement independently 'ofthe car, means on the car and having a running connection with the said element for receivingmotion therefromwhen the element is moved to open and close the gate, a shaft door, and

means for opening and closing the shaft door by the movement of the said element.

3. The combination of an elevator shaft,"

a car movable therein, elevator shaft doors, a gate-on the car, means in the shaft for opening and closing any of the shaft doors, means on the car for operating the car gate, a cable device connected with the first-mentioned means-for actuating the sameand having a running connection with the said means on the car, a mechanism for actuating the said device, and a controller oper ative from the car for throwing the said mechanism into operation.

4. The combination of an elevator shaft, a car movable therein, elevator shaft doors,

a gate on the car, means in'the shaft for 5. An elevator shaft, a carmovable there-.

in, a gate for the car, an element extending up and down the shaft and capable of movement independently of the car, a pulley system on the car and having a running engagement with the said element, one pul ley of the said system being movable, and means actuated by the movable pulley for opening the said gate.

6. The combination of a shaft, an elevator car movable therein, a gate for the car, means on the car for opening and closing the gate, means in the shaft and having a running engagement with the said means for actuating the latter in any position of the car, and a device for preventing movement of the car while the said gate is open.

7. The combination of an elevator shaft having door openings, doors therefor, a car movable in thes'haft, means in the shaft and controllable from the car for opening and closing any door, a gate for the car, a cable extending from the top to the bottom of the shaft and including a loop, sheaves around which the loop engages, one of the sheaves being fixed on the car and the other being movable, means for exerting a pull on the cable to move the movable sheave, and

means actuated by. the movable sheave for moving the gate of the car. I

8. The combination of an elevator shaft having door openings, doors therefor, a car movabl'ein the shaft, means in the shaft and controllable from the car for opening and closing any door, a gate for the car, a cable extending from the top to the bottom of the shaft and including a loop, sheaves around which the loop engages, one of the sheaves being fixed on the car and the other being movable, means for exerting a pull on the cable to move the movable sheave, a cable connected with the .gate and having one end fixed to the car, and a movable sheave connected with the first-mentioned movable sheave and acting on the last-mentioned cable to operate the gate. I

9. The combination of an elevator shaft, a car traveling'therein, a gate on the car, a cable extending longitudinally of the shaft and having a loop, sheaves on the car and engageable with the loop to form an operating running connection between the cable and the car, one of-the sheaves being movable toward the other to permit a pull to be exerted on the cable, a winding device for extending a pull on the cable, mechanism actuated by the movable sheave for opening thegate, and a controller for the said mechanism, operative from within the JOHN E. w. FOG-AL.

Witnesses:

. H. P. SIMPSoN,

CHAS. A. BUNTING. 

